Almond Fruit Bars

Name: Almond Fruit Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 0.5 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for baking dish; 1.5 cups all-purpose flour; 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 0.25 teaspoon salt; 0.25 teaspoon baking powder; 0.5 cup packed light-brown sugar; 0.25 cup granulated sugar; 1 large egg yolk; 0.75 cup sliced almonds; 0.5 cup fruit jam, such as cherry, plum, or raspberry

3.7

(96)

16 Reviews

By

Martha Stewart Editors

Updated on May 16, 2017

Prep Time:

15 mins

Total Time:

45 mins

Yield:

16 to 18

Crumbly, buttery almond bars are the perfect treat for snacks or school lunches. Layer in any variety of jam that you like. We used cherry.

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for baking dish
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup packed light-brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
¾ cup sliced almonds
½ cup fruit jam, such as cherry, plum, or raspberry

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy; beat in egg yolk. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Stir in almonds.
In a small bowl, whisk jam to loosen. (Stirring the jam with a fork or a whisk will enable it to spread smoothly over the dough.) Gently press half of dough into bottom of prepared dish. With the back of a spoon, gently spread jam over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border so the jam doesn't stick to the sides of the pan. Sprinkle remaining dough over top all the way to the edges; press gently to form top layer.
Bake until top is golden, 25 to 30 minutes; cool completely in dish. Cut into bars with a serrated knife.

Cook's Notes

When spreading the jam, leave a border of dough so the jam doesn't stick to the sides of the pan.